The Tibetan Buddhist Practice of Chöd and the Radical Act of Feeding Your Demons
Description
The core of the Chöd practice is a radical inversion of confronting fear. Instead of fighting or banishing "demons" (which represent our fears, attachments, and afflictions), the practitioner visualizes offering them their own dismembered body as a grand feast. This transforms a terrifying act into the ultimate expression of compassion and generosity, "feeding" the fears rather than fighting them.
In this podcast, we explore the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Chöd, which literally means "to sever". This episode explains that Chöd is a profound ritual system founded by the great female master Machig Labdrön. We discuss how the practice is not a morbid act, but a path of radical compassion designed to cut the root of ego-clinging. This podcast covers the core of the ritual, where the practitioner visualizes their consciousness as a deity who then offers their own body as a feast for all beings, especially the "demons" that represent our deepest fears and afflictions. The episode examines the philosophy behind this: "feeding, not fighting" these inner demons to transmute them with compassion. We will also touch upon the practice's unique history, its symbolic tools like the thigh-bone trumpet , and its modern psychological applications.
United States
